Improvement in explosive shells



B. H; TRIPR Shell. $10, 14,353. latented'Sept 20. 1864.

@7/W MW NJPETERS PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D C Umren "States FFTQEQ B. H. TRIPP, OF OULPEP'ER, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN EXPLOSIVE SHELLS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, B. H. TRIPP, of Gulpeper, county of Oulpeper, and State of Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Explosive Projectile; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, m akin g a part of this specification, in which- 7 Figure 1 is a perspective view of my projectile. Fig.2 is a diametrical section through the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section, and Fig. 4 is a view of the interior portion of the projectile.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

One of the objects of my invention is to so construct ordnance shells or projectiles that small balls, &c., can be discharged from them at any desired moment during their flight through the air.

Another object of my invention is to'combine tape or rock fuses and percussionexploders with shells so constructed that should one fail to explode the shell the other will efiect the explosion, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying d rawin gs, A represents a cylindrical case inclosing a hollow barrel or tube, B, which is made small enough to leave a space, 0, around it, as shown in Figs.2 and 3. The. bore of the barrel B is open at one end, and closed at the other by a plug, D, which also closes the outer chamber, 0, and which is so applied as to resist the explosion of the powder in the two chambers of the shell. The plug D may have screw-threads cut on it, so that it can be screwed into the ends of the casing A and barrel B, and thus prevented from being separated from the shell by the discharge of the load from barrel B during the flight of the projectile through the air.

The barrel B is formed with an enlarged and tapering point, B, on its forward end, thegreatest diameter of which equals that of the case A, which is fitted to it, and near the point of this barrel the portion B is turned down toreceive a soft-metal ring, a, which confines in place a string or tape fuse, b,

that passes from the outer surface of the shell inward' and enters the end of a small tube, 0, that extends back and communicates with the powder, which is behind the balls in the barrel B, as shown in Fig. 2.

Before the several parts of my shell are secured together, I introduce between the ends of the outer case, A, soft'metal rings 0? d, and when the parts are all put together the edges of said rings are bent forward, so as to lie closely in contact with the surface of the shell, and to form expansion-rings for filling up the grooves in the gun and preventing windage.

When the three parts A, B, and D are put together, the only communication between the chamber 0 and the bore of the barrel B is through a perforation, e, which I propose to fill with a short fuse, so that after the explosion or discharge ofthe barrel a short time will elapse before the shell proper will explodei. 6., before the powder in the outer chamber, 0, is ignited. This will give tiine,if desired, for the shell to reach its destination before it explodes.

Should the fuse I) fail to ignite the powder in the barrel B,1 have provided a percussion-exploder in the chamber (3, which consists of a perforated sliding block, g, carrying on its end a percussion-cap, 'When the shell strikes an object, this block 9 will be thrust forward with such force as to explode the cap 9, and thus ignite the powder in the shell or chamber 0, and also the powder in the barrel B. If the tape-fuse b is successful, the powder in barrel B will explode first and discharge the small balls h h in advance of the shell, after which the casing A will be burst.

In order to ignite the tape'fuse b near the point of the shell, I make grooves in the outside surface of the shell, as shown at it, so that this fuse will be ignited before it leaves the gun; and if desirable the fuse b may be so applied to the point of the shell that by cutting the soft-metal ring a short or long portions of the fuse may be exposed, according to the time required for the shell to reach its destination. Instead of the common tape 21, one of the ordinary time-fuses may be applied so as to ignite the powder in the tube 0, and that which is behind the shot h in the barrel. By this arrangement it will be seen that the fuse b, which communicates directly with the powder in the barrel B, can be timed so as to gnite said powder at any moment desired after the shell leaves the gun, and discharge the small shot h before the shell itself explodes. j As there would be considerable danger attending the handling and transportation of my shells in consequence of the use of sliding exploders g, I avoid this danger by inserting plugs or screws through the case A, in front of the exploders, which screws should be partially withdrawn before the shells are put into the guns. 7

It will be seen from the above description of my invention that I obtain a projectile which has a central bore within it, extending from its forward end back to a solid plug, which forms the butt or breech of the projectile, and that this bore or barrel is intended to serve as a gun, it being loaded from the muzzle with powder and small shot, which latter are to be discharged in advance of the shell during its flight through the air, and when sufficiently near the object aimed at; then upon the shell striking the object provision is made for bursting the case A, which surrounds the barrel B. My improved projectile is constructed with a view to its use in rifled ordnance, which will propel it through the air point foremost; otherwise the explosion of the charge in the barrel B before the shell strikes would not be likely to produce the desired result. I have stated in the body of my specification that the percussion-exploder will ignite the powder in the shell upon the latter striking an object point foremost if the fuse I) should fail. I do not mean to be understood by this statement that the exploder g is a mere supplement to the fuse I), and that the small shoth are only discharged bythe ignition of the powder in the outer case, A, and the explosion of this case, for in such case the small shotwill not be thrown from the shell until it strikes the object aimed at. The object of the time-fuse is to ignite the powder and discharge the small shot during the flight of the shell through the air, after which the percussion-exploder performs its office-viz., to

burst the shell upon striking.

I am aware that projectiles have been made with several chambers in them for the reception of powder, small shot, slugs, balls, incendiary compounds, &c., which are to be scattered about after the shell bursts; and I am also aware that magazine-shells have been made which were provided with time-fuses that burst the shells during their flight through the air, and thus scattered their contents about; but none of these shells or projectiles are provided with a central open muz zle barrel or gun, which, on being loaded with small shot and a time-fuse, would discharge these shot during the flight of the projectile through the air, and then, upon striking the object aimed at, explode. I do not, therefore, claim, broadly, a projectile which is provided with chambers containing small shot and powder; nor do I claim, broadly, the combination of two fuses or a percussion-exploder and a time-fuse in a shell or projectile.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is I 1. The central barrel, l3, breech-plug D, and

time-fuse I), in combination with an explosive projectile, constructed substantially as do scribed.

2. The combnation of percnssiou-exploder g, time-fuse b, and communication 0 with a central-discharge projectile, which is constructtd with a central barrel, B, chamber 0, casing A, and breech-plug l), substantially as described.

r B. H. TRIPP.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM M. J ()HNSON, JAMES SHEPS'IOW. 

